A Teen With a Dream

HOW TO: Get Better at Your Sport

SSOOCCEEERRRR… don’t worry this post is NoT dedicated to just this sport, but it’s where I got my inspiration. Soccer at my school is TRULY excelling… at least the guy’s team, and I want my team to grow just as much. Though that’s a little tough because, um, we are pretty lazy compared to them. Which is totally cool because we are there to have fun and build a tight a$$ sisterhood instead of running 45’s and miles during the whole practice.

Before I start, I should make it clear that I played soccer with my school team during my sophomore year and it was only sometimes a mess because we were put in a higher division so to speak, which means we went up against girls that probably trained with Messi himself.

Anyway, I am here to help you get better at your desired sport real quick honey. First off, you have to make sure this is something you actually want to do or at least have some amount of interest. Do not go into doing cross country if you hate running, but you want to be skinny and do not do gymnastics if you can’t be higher than a foot off the ground and have a panic attack, but you still want to be flexible. See what I mean wahine.

I will lay it out in steps for YOU!!

Get the Right Mindset– When I do find something that I enjoy just as much as tacos, I will even lick the plate. If you arrive at your first practice and things are not looking right and you stand there like oh damn set some goals for yourself while you are there so you can see where the faults are. Before you shoot the ball or make the dive take a moment and think “I’m gonna do this” or “I can do this” or if you are someone like me who lowkey likes to pressure themselves to get better, than think “I really got to make this in because that meal over there Dwayne is looking at me and if I miss he probably won’t marry me”

Practice Outside of Practice– Yeah okay this one you hear maybe all the time, but you’re gonna hear it again dude. Some of us don’t know it at first, but others that want to be on the same team as you are probably going to the gym and doing side practices on the low. Which is why you should too. I’m that friend that gets a text from another friend asking if you want to practice and I just say yes. Though when the day comes I just want to eat chicken instead. If you do that STOP no more…put yourself in a place that makes chicken the prize for all your hard work. “Hey look at me, my name is Derek and I promise to myself that if I work out/practice every day this week my reward will be a shopping spree in New York” …but it only works if you follow through.

Treat Your Body Right– This, is pretty obvious. Don’t come home from practice and eat a Klondike bar, but instead a bowl of fruit. Although I also mean the relationships you have with the people on your team. Don’t put extra pressure on yourself to be Cole’s best buddy because you don’t need that anxiety . Stay drama free my guy.

Understand the Game- When I first started soccer I didn’t know what the positions were or just about anything. During the game when I had possession of the ball I was like “what do I do now?” and so I just kicked the ball basically randomly. This is why I suggest watching YouTube videos on several different things such as tricks or how to handle the ball or other things that apply to you. I also recommend watching real games, there are these event thing-a-ma-bobs called Olympics and that World Cup mumbo jumbo that are really exciting. Also over the years when I listened to all my different coaches, I try to remember what they all say. I try to really focus on the information they all agree on matches and follow it. If my coach in the past says to “go down the line” and my coach in the present says the same thing for that same situation, I now know I should go down the line when that event happens

Basic Things- Be best friends with whatever you’re working with. Buy your own football for practice and name it Perry and get gas together. If you are a swimmer, buy a cap, name it Thor and read bedtime stories to it. Other than being comfortable with what you’re working with go through what you learned in the very beginning. Personally, I used to kick the ball with my toe, and if I never want to do that again I would work on simple kicks. Got me?

I hope this was at least decent because it really did improve my skills 🙂